The Memphis Redbirds dropped their first game of the season in game two of the Opening Week series with the Gwinnett Stripers at AutoZone Park on Wednesday afternoon.
First baseman Luken Baker was the star of the show for Memphis, driving in a pair of runs in the 5-3 loss. In the first inning, Baker hit a sacrifice fly to drive home second baseman Brendan Donovan and put the Redbirds on top, 1-0.
With Memphis trailing by three in the bottom of the sixth, Baker drove a ball beyond the left-center field wall for his first Triple-A home run. The Redbirds fought back further in the inning, when shortstop Evan Mendoza singled with two outs, bringing in third baseman Cory Spangenberg.
On the mound, the Memphis bullpen tossed 5.1 innings of one-run baseball. Angel Rondon, Zach McAllister, Packy Naughton and Blake Parker combined to strike out six Stripers in relief.
Thomas Burrows (1-0) earned the win for Gwinnett with Michael Tonkin (1) earning the save. Matthew Liberatore (0-1) was credited with the loss.
